Circumcision Costs Man His Penis Two Weeks Before Wedding

Tianjin is the third largest metropolitan in China and is home to some of the first and most well renowned medical institutions in the nation.

Imagine just two weeks before you are married, being convinced that a surgical procedure to remove a part of your genitals will protect you from potential sexually transmitted infections you may encounter in your new union.

You consent to the surgical amputation, not fully informed of the risks or side-effects involved, and end up losing your penis...

This is just what happened to a 21-year-old young man, Xiao He, in China this past November, 2011. Four months after he checked out, He is now suing Boadi Bohai Hospital in Tianjin where circumcision left him without a penis.

Over the first week following circumcision, He found his penis gradually changing in color from the bright (painful) red of a fresh amputation site, to a very dark, deep color. He checked himself into Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated Ninth People's Hospital on December 21st and soon after underwent another surgery on his penis for 'glans penis necrosis' due to circumcision.

The physician performing repeat surgery completed a penis debridement and local flap angioplasty of the urethra to try and save He's penis. However, the damage resulting from circumcision was too severe and He's entire penis was removed.

He was discharged from the hospital on December 31st, and claims the hospital was responsible for the circumcision which cost him his penis. He is seeking $150,000 yuan (equivalent of $24,000 U.S. dollars) to cover medical expenses. He's newlywed bride also attempted to file suit against the hospital for emotional damages, but was denied on the basis of her age. Legal age for a woman to marry in China is 20 years, and Xiaoli had not yet reached her 20th birthday when they married in December, 2011.

The physician who performed circumcision on He is believed to be licensed in one Chinese city (Anlu City) and not Tianjin. This may play into the Peace District court proceedings which will begin next week between He and the hospital where he was circumcised.